Starting and stopping mechanism.



O. BENNION, A. BATES & J. GOULDBOURN.

STARTING AND STOPPING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION TILED 0073.16, 1911 Patented Sept. 2, 1913.

3 SKEETS-SHEET l.

G. BENNION, A. BATES & J. GOULDBOURN. STARTING AND STOPPING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED 001'. 16, 1911.

1,071,865, Patented Sept. 2, 1913.

3 BHEETS-SHEET 3.

ca 5 I O a E m e Q e w Q3 33 WVEA/TUQE VV/T/VESSES HM TED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES BENNION, ARTHUR BATES, AND JOSEII-I GOULDBOURN, OF LEICESTER, ENGLAND, ASSIGNORS TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

STARTING AND STOPPING MECHANISM.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, Cnannes BnNNIoN, Airrnnn Bares, and Josnrn Goununounn, subjects of the King of England, residing at Leicester, Leicestershire, England, have invented certain Improvements in Starting and Stopping Mechanisms, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on t-hedrawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

' The present invention relates to starting and stopping mechanism for machines used in the manufacture of boots and shoes, the invention being more particularly applicable to machines used for cutting up sheet material into the component parts of boots and shoes in which the driving shaft makes one revolution and then stops.

The invention is herein shown as embodied in a cutting machine or cutting press having a plurality of heads so arranged that a plurality of operators may work independently at the same machine, and the invention consists particularly in improvements in starting and stopping mechanism espe cially applicable to a machine of this type. In the illustrated machine a plurality of heads, each having a driving shaft, are arranged to be operated from a single driving pulley to which each driving shaft may be clutched. It will be apparent that the power required in operating a machine of this type will be less if provision be made for preventing the operation of more than one of these heads at a time.

An object of the invention is the provision of means for thus preventing the clutching of more than one driving shaft to the pulley at one time, and particularly the provision of means to this end which shall be so constructed that one operator cannot delay another by failure to release the actuating means promptly.

Other features and objects of the invention and novel combinations of elements producing new and useful results will be Specification of Letters Patent. v Patented Sept. 2, 1913. Application filed October 16, 1911. Serial No. 654,993.

being shown complete in this figure; Fig. 2 is a front sectional elevation; F ig. 3 is an enlarged view of the means for preventing the simultaneous operation of the two press heads.

The double open-ended press about to be described has a framework 2 comprising tables 4, one on the other end, and two heads 6, one overhanging each table. As the heads are in all respects duplicates of each other and are arranged back to back with a common driving pulley 8 between them, it will be necessary to describe only one of them.

Mounted in the head 6 is a plunger 10 which is adapted to be reciprocated toward and from the table 4 by means of an eccentric strap 12 surrounding an eccentric l t upon a driving shaft 16, the plunger carrying at its lower end a platen 18 which engages the die. Each of the plunger-s 10 is operated from an independent driving shaft. Upon the shaft 16 near its inner end is mounted a flanged disk 20 having loosely connected to it an expansible clutch ring that projects from it into a suitable recess in the continuously running driving pulley '8, which is either mounted upon the shaft 16 or upon a second co-axial shaft 16 allotted to the other head. The clutch ring is expanded and contracted by means of a right and left handed screw, operating in correspondingly threaded holes in the ring in a well-known manner, the screw having attached to it an arm which is moved to turn the screw by means of a spring-actuated sliding bolt 22, the arrangement being such that the bolt is normally pressed by its spring into a position to expand the ring and so clutch the driving shaft 16 to the pulley 8. The bolt 22 has a tail 24 adapted to be engaged by a wedge 26 upon one arm of a bell-crank lever 28, fulcrumed at 30 upon the machine frame, the bell-crank lever 28 being rocked at a certain time in each revolution of the shaft in such manner that the wedge enters between the tail of the bolt and another part of the machine in order to retract the bolt and so release the rin from contact with the pulley,'thus unclutc ing the shaft from the pulley.

In order that the machine may be started at the will of the operator, suitable connections are provided between the bellcrank lever 28 and a starting treadle, not I which is normally engaged by a secondcatch plate 38 upon a second lever 40 also 'fulcrumed at 30, the lever 40 having its other arm pivotally connected to the treadl rod 42.

Located between the flanges of the flanged disk 20 is a brake band 44, one endlof said band being connected to a projection 46 from an oscillating frame 48 which is mounted on a fixed shaft 50 carried by ears 52 upon the machine frame. The frame 48 has an arm 54 having a pivotal connection on its outer end with the plunger 10 whereby the frame is rocked as the plunger 10 reclprocates during the pressing operation. The connections are so made that whenthe plunger rises to nearly the top of its stroke,

it operates the oscillating frame 58 to tighten the'band 44 and so apply gradually increasing pressure to the surface of the disk 20, thus stopping the machine when the plunger has reached the top of its stroke.

The general principle of operation of the brake and clutch thus far described is the same as that used in the commercial clicking press, but it will be seen that by this arrangement when the brake has been ap-' plied by the rise of the plunger it will be kept-applied untilthe plunger has movedv down a considerable distance during the next operation of the machine, that is to say the clutch has not only to start the press but it has to do so against theresistance. of the brake.

Pivotally mounted at 56 upon the oscil lating frame 48 is a rocking 'yoke 58 to 'which the other end of the brake band 44 is pivotally connected at 60. When the rocking yoke 58 is swung so as to bring'its pivotal connection '60 into such position as to make the end of the brake band lie across the axis of the pivot 56 then the brake is tightened as much as possible. This is the normal condition when the oscillatin frame 48 has been turned toapply the bra 'e. In

- order to hold the rocking yoke'58 in position, its end remote from the end which is pivotally connected to the band brake is jointed at 62 to a link 64 which'in turn'is jointed at its upper end at 66 to the arm 68 of the bell-crank lever 28. As hereinabove pointed out, the other arm of the bell-crank lever 28 carries the wedge 26. When the" cient and operated with less power. illustrated means for preventing operation enses parts are in their normal positions of rest,

the catch 38 upon the lever 40 is in engage ment with the catch 36 upon the latch 32 and therefore when the lever 40 is-turned about the fulcrum 30 by the upward movement of the rod 42 as the operator'depresses the treadle to start the machine the bellcrank lever 28 will also be rocked about the fulcrum 30 and the wedge 26 will be moved out from engagement with the tail 24 of the bolt 22, thus permitting the bolt to be moved inward by its spring to effect the clutching of the disk 20 and shaft 16 to the loose pulley 8. moved away from the bolt 22 to permit the parts to be clutched, the arm 68 of the bellcrank lever 28 will be raised, thereby pulling up on the link 64 and rocking. the yoke 58 about its pivot 56, thus moving downward the pivotal connection 60 between the yoke and the brake band 44, so that the rake band does not cross the axis of the the band upon the disk.

It will-be noted that this brake releasing construction is essentially an inverted toggle, one member of the toggle being the loose member of the flexible band brake and the other member being the rocking yoke 58. In this way the brake is automatically released by the operator whenever he is throwing the driving clutch. into action.

As the wedge 26 is 1 The tail 34 upon'the latch 32 is so placed j as to be engagedby a cam 70 upon the driving shaftfshortly after the shaft begins to be obvious that the connections between the starting rod 42 and the band 44 are so arranged that the band is loosened before the.-

clutch is thrown in and this, as a matter of fact, is the preferred construction herein shown.

As hereinabove suggested, when operating a double-headed machine by vmeans of a driving pulley common to both heads, it is preferable to insure that bothlheads of the machine shall not be thrown into action simultaneously, since then the driving belt and its pulley can be of less size than they would otherwise require to be made and the machinecan be made more compact and efli- The of the two heads at the same tim'ecomp'rise's two spring held pawls 74, 74', each mounted upon one of the ends of a horizontally disposed, equal-armed lever 76, of the class, fulcrumed at 78 upon the machine I frame. The springs 80 and 80" which act upon the respective pawls are so arranged 100 rotate so that the bell crank 28 will be rerespect to the ends of the lever. When either pawl is driven outward it is adapted to engage its respective collar 82 or 82 upon the starting rods 42 or 42'. If only one of the starting rods, say 42, is raised from its inoperative position, it swings its rocking yoke 58 to release the band brake 44 and also to bring an inclined rib 84 which is upon the yoke downward. This inclined rib contacts with a pin 86' on the 'tail of the pawl 74 and drives that pawl outward, so that on continued upward movement of the said starting rod its collar 82 engages the pawl and raises it, together with the end of the lever 76 to which it is attached, until the starting rod 42 has moved up far enough to throw in its latch. If at this time the operator at the other end of the machine attempts to raise the other starting rod 42 to release the band brake upon that side of the loose pulley 8 and to throw in the clutch, a similar inclined rib 84 which is on the other rocking yoke 58' will be caused to descend and drive out the second pawl 74 to intercept the collar 84 on the startmg rod 42. Since the first actuated starting rod 42 will be holding up its end of the lever 76 at this time, further upward movement of the starting rod 42 will be prevented since it cannot move up its end of the lever 76. Consequently, the starting rod 42 cannot be operated to throw in its clutch until the starting rod 42' has been lowered or until an abutment 88" upon the oscillating frame 48 strikes another pin 90 upon the pawl 74 and thereby returns it into its inward position and out of contact with the collar 82 on the starting rod 42', thus freeing the end of the lever 76. This abutment 88 acts automatically just as the plunger reaches its lowest position and is provided so that if the operator at one end of the machine should retain the starting rod in elevated position longer than is necessary, such operation would not delay the operation of the other head lon er than is required in the normal operation of the machine. By the means just described the starting of both presses is effectually prevented and the power necessary to drive them is greatly reduced.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent of the United States is:-

' 1. A machine of the class described, having in combination, a plurality of heads, a single driving pulley, a clutch for each head cooperating with said pulley, means for preventing a plurality of clutches being thrown into action simultaneously, and means for automatically discontinuing the action of said preventing means at a predetermined time in the operation of one of said heads.

2. A machine of the class described, having in combination, a plurality of heads, a single driving pulley, a clutch for each head cooperating with said pulley, manually controlled means for operating each clutch, means for preventing simultaneous operation of a plurality of clutches, and means independent of the manually controlled means for discontinuing the operation of the preventing means.

3. A machine of the class described, having in combination, two heads, a single driving pulley, a clutch for each head cooperating with said pulley, manually controlled means for operating each clutch, meanstor preventing the simultaneous operation of the heads comprising a rocking lever provided with abutments adapted to engage and limit the movement of the manually controlled means associated with one of said clutches when the manually controlled means associated with the other clutch has been actuated, and automatic means to disengage the abutment from one of said manually controlled means when the head actuated by the other means has reached a predetermined point in its operation.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES BENNION.

ARTHUR BATES. JOSEPH GOULDBOURN.

Witnesses FREDERICK \VILLIAM \Vonrn, CLAUD BENNION.

'Qerreetien in Letters Patent No, mi! 865!- it is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,071,865, granted September 2;

' 1913, lipon the application of Gharles Bennioii, Arthur Bates, and Joseph Gonldbourii, of Leicester, England, for an improvement in Starting and Stopping Mechanisms, an error appears in the printed specification requiring eorrection as follows:

Page 1, line 62, for the words the other read either; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may eonform to the record of the case in the Patent Ofice. i x Q I i I Signed and sealed this 25th dayof November, D, 1913 -.[SEAL.] I J. T NEWTON Acting Commissionehof Patenteo I 

